A climate normal is the average of climate variables over the most recently completed three-decade period. It represents the baseline average climatology for a location for comparing recent weather. Climatic averages for the period from 1981 to 2010 now represent the climatic normal conditions, replacing the 1971 to 2000 normals used from 2001 to 2010. Climate normals typically include average temperature (maximum/minimum/average), precipitation and snowfall. Other variables may be available for a few, automated stations in each state. More information on how climate normals are calculated and used is available at the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center 1981-2010 normals FAQ page. The FAQ site also includes links to climate normal products, which are available free of charge, via ftp (login as guest) and http.